Your Email Might Be Somebody’s Last Straw
Have you noticed that email volume is reaching crisis proportions? It’s true for many people regardless of the business they’re in.
The ease of email causes people to be careless about how they use it. It’s just SO easy to dash off an email to someone the moment you think of it. And then three hours later when you think of something else… email them again! Apparently businesses lose billions of dollars a year due to loss of productivity from employees dealing with unnecessary emails. I think many of us are just a few rambling emails away from a complete nervous breakdown.
But never fear… a 10-step list to the rescue!
10 Steps to Writing Better Emails
1. Keep it brief.
Many people recommend the three-sentence rule: If you can say what you need to in 3 sentences or less, do it! If not, keep it as close to 3 sentences as possible. If you have something in-depth that will take several paragraphs, consider talking to the person instead. You know, talking. Like they used to do in the old days.
2. Pause before hitting Send.
Is it completely necessary? Does it have to go NOW? If it can possibly wait, then use the DRAFT function of your email program to save it. Once a week, pull up all your drafts and only send the ones that are still necessary. This is especially handy if you tend to send several emails a week to one person. Can they be consolidated?
3. Get to the point.
Make it easy for the recipient to get the gist of your message right away. Don’t ramble.
4. Make questions and action points stand out.
DON’T bury your questions throughout the email in the middle of paragraphs! If there is action needed, or a question that needs an answer, make it VERY obvious. For example, you might want to number them and put them at the end of your email.
5. Use NNTR
I’ve started putting “NNTR” at the end of the subject line. It means No Need To Reply. This can save people lots of time and eliminate needless back-and-forth.
6. Use EOM
Another one of my favorites – I put “EOM” at the end of the subject line to indicate “End of Message.” That is, the entire message is in the subject line. So in responding to an email requesting a phone call, my subject line might say, “I’ll call you Tues 3/6 at 4pm eastern — EOM.” And the recipient doesn’t even need to open the email, they’ve got all the info they need.
7. Use a relevant subject line
Try NOT to use a generic subject line, such as “Thought you might want to know…” The subject line is for… wait for it… the actual subject of your email.
8. Change the subject line when necessary
If you’re emailing back and forth with someone, and the topic changes mid-conversation, change the subject line! This goes extra for those of you who never actually start a new email stream, but whenever you want to email someone, you simply grab the last email from them and hit “Reply.” Change the subject line, please.
9. DON’T use “Quick Question”
Avoid that oldie-but-goodie in the subject line unless you want your recipient to shoot themselves. First, a quick question is never quick. Second, it’s generic and tells nothing. It’s much better for your subject line to say, “Question about why my agent never returns my emails.” At least that’s specific. And memorable.
10. Remember that every time you send an email, somewhere a fairy dies.
Well, maybe not. But it should at least make us think twice about it!
→ Bonus: What about saying “thank you”?
The jury’s still out on this one. I think most of us are trying to avoid too many unnecessary emails, yet the courtesy of telling somebody “thank you” is a very good thing, and we don’t need to lose all our manners in this rush-rush digital world. If you want to send a Thank You email, go for it.
What are your pet peeves about email?
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My Twitter name is @RachelleGardner.
My passion is partnering with authors to bring worthwhile books to publication. I started this blog as a way to create a community of writers, both published and seeking publication. I write about a wide variety of topics of interest to writers, and I consider the reader comments even more important than my own posts.
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Great list. And a big YES to numbers 7 and 8. I’m a magazine editor, and think subject lines are important. Especially for pitches. (Editors can get hundreds of emails a week…or a day.)
I’m also a fan of getting to the point and adjusting the subject line as needed. After all, a pitch question one day could be an assignment the next (if all goes well!).
Great tips, Rachelle. Especially like the abbreviations in #5 and #6 — what great timesavers.
Wow. Conviction. I’m so guilty of so many of these bad boys. Especially the rambling.
Such a concise list should be easy to follow. – SHOULD be!
Thanks!
My biggest pet peeve about emails? When people deal with multiple items in one email. When I see one (with its 17 unrelated points or questions) I dread the hour it is going to take to respond to all those points.
I usually “save as unread” and move on.
Thanks for the tips on e-mailing.
The advent of e-mail on phones just made it worse. I’ve noticed sometimes that people won’t even be paying attention when replying to e-mails on their phone, so you know someone is getting a rushed reply just because the person feels the need to respond immediately.
Hi, Rachelle,
I just got this by email. Fortunately, yours are always welcome.(and with this parenthetical,I’ve said it all in three sentences.)
I like these tips a lot, but I (just me personally) disagree with talking if the topic requires several paragraphs. For me, that’s when I want e-mail the most, so I don’t forget things and I can refer to it later.
Example: my agent’s revision e-mails. If she just told me this stuff over the phone, I’d forget all kinds of details and/or misunderstand her point (because I remember what I thought she meant, rather than what she actually said). The fact I can read her loooong e-mails over and over, making sure I understand EXACTLY what she means, is one of the great things about e-mail to me.
But yes, those long e-mails should be used only when absolutely necessary
Okay, obviously those revisions are not really considered just an “email” but rather an editorial letter. I never put editorial letters in the email itself, it’s always an attachment, because it can often run 5 to 10 pages single spaced.
And those definitely have to be in writing!
Well, I haven’t graduated to a full editorial letter yet (hope to soon? maybe?). These have just my agent’s notes on broad revisions
So far they’ve been written directly into the e-mail, but attached or not, I appreciate it
I’m not able to remember half of what’s said to me over the phone in a lengthy conversation, unless I’m taking dictation. That’s just how my brain is wired. If it’s important, I need it in writing.
I agree entirely. I work with judges and laying it all out where I can edit and clarify BEFORE taking the breath and hitting send… well, it saves a lot of confusion.
I think I’d like to show this list to my students, especially because some of them expect (and some of them actually demand) immediate responses from me whenever they e-mail me. And that bothers me, because it’s not always possible for me to respond to e-mails right away. And yes, a thank you e-mail would definitely go a long way. It makes my day when I get one of those.
This is a peeve of mine. And, in my opinion, it’s largely a child of technology today. Most phones (unless you specifically look for one that doesn’t allow it) allow you to check your email, twitter, etcetera, 24/7. As such, there’s an expectation that you’re reachable in those hours. Which in no way should be true or expected.
#Guilty
#In Treatment &
#On The Road to Recovery
Thank You!
Pet Peeves:
1. Please do not forward anything that I do not need to sign. I do not have time to laugh at or be inspired by kittens right now.
2. Tell me in the text if you are sending me an attachment so I know YOU sent it and not some guy named burnworldburn2012.
3. Never presume I want to lose, enlarge, sell, or buy anything.
5. If you are sending me a list, be sure to get your numbers correct.
6. I do not have Multiple Personality disorder, so if I get an email from myself, I will presume it is spam.
7. If your signature is a massive quote, put it in an alternate color so I can ignore it instead of wishing that I had.
8. I love God, my country, puppies, kittens, starving children, soldiers, fellow believers, people with every affliction known to humankind, but I am still not forwarding your email to ten friends.
EOM HAGD TTFN
Oh, that’s good.
Ooh I like this! Thank you! Love the abbreviations.
All good suggestions… I feel like this may have been written on a day when the “last straw” had popped up in your inbox. Is there anyone in particular you’d like us to forward this to? ;-D
No, it’s just that I spent much of last weekend clearing my inbox as much as possible – it had been over 300 for weeks. And this is NOT counting spam or queries. I respond to email for much of every single day but it’s never enough! Guess I needed to get out my frustration somehow.
“Thank You” is a nice thing to do but acknowledging receipt is essential.
I don’t send email nonsense so I always expect acknowledgment and have started requesting it, especially if it’s a new address.
Great tips.I found them really useful and they will help me very much.I will use them to make my work easier.
Hmm; like Adam, I like long emails as an email so that I can refer to it as often as I need to and make sure I covered everything — and so that I can answer it thoughtfully in my own time rather than whenever they happened to call.
Also, as I had never seen those acronyms before I would just end up bemused and puzzled if they were sent to be.
But I totally agree about the subject line. For me, this is more important for when I am searching for something I filed three months ago than for when I first receive it.
Natalie, as I responded to Adam, there are situations in which a long email is required because something must be in writing. However, sometimes long emails are rambling. It’s important we all take the time to make sure our emails are the former, not the latter. Many recipients, upon opening an email that looks very long with big, daunting paragraphs, will simply close the email and move on, deciding to get to it “later.”
Regarding the abbreviations… I think the reason I included them here is to spread the word so that people don’t have to feel clueless! Henceforth, no excuse for you to be puzzled.
Thanks fro adding the subject line part. I hate when I have to file some important info for later but since it is not labeled in the subject line, I have to email it to myself with a new subject line so I can reference it faster later.
I agree that the subject should be in the subject line so we can find the e-mail when we need to refer to it again OR to respond. I also can relate to the frustrated person who does not get their most important question answered, and has to send another e-mail about it.
My question/problem, though, deserves an entirely new post, if not a series of posts (Rachelle, you did say you wanted to know what we were interested in reading, no?).
What do you do when your e-mail becomes a task that is so time-consuming it should be a part-time job?
I started a new e-mail address, finally after five years of marriage, with my new name. There I get 2-10 e-mails a day. But, my old address, which is connected to my blogs, the blogs of people I follow, and my FB “Author” page, not to mention Twitter & My____ gets about 100 e-mails a day. And that’s on a good day. A lot of it is spam, which I keep marking as spam, but I have noticed they find tricky ways to get around the blocks. I also get a lot of political stuff, and have discovered that there are at least 20 groups for every cause on the planet. I am even getting snail mail from some of these people now.
So, PLEASE, anyone, tell me how you get e-mail back to being a friendly place you visit ONCE IN A WHILE.
A sincere thank you to all of you,
Sherrie Miranda
Don’t write your e-mail like it’s a text message. I don’t want to see ‘gr8′ and ‘R U’ or ‘U R’ or ‘C U l8r’, or ’4′ instead of ‘for’. Ugh.
If you’re replying yet again in a lengthy conversation, it’s okay to cut the text from all the previous e-mails in your reply.
Jeffo, it’s actually best NOT to delete the text from the previous emails if it’s a continuing conversation. People need to be able to refer back to what was said previously. If it’s a whole new topic, then yes, I agree.
I differentiate between thank you and thanks at the end of the email (not that anyone else knows it) because when I truly want to say thank you I do. When I just want to seem polite. It the email really sort of bugged me I say thanks.
I’ve been accused of over thinking once or twice.
Great post! I’m not sure I could do my day job at all without email, and I agree fully with most of your points (especially #10).
I’m in the middle in the Great Debate regarding #1. If there’s something that needs expounding upon, I’d rather read it in an e-mail even if it’s several paragraphs, but if there’s a conversation needed then let’s talk.
Instead of EOM, a company I used to work for used nm (“no message”).
My personal pet peeve? Should go without saying in a group of authors and publishing peeps, but–speel chek is your frend! Seriously, read over your missive before you hit send to make sure you sound somewhat sorta vaguely literate.
I’ve had to wean myself away from the email consolidation technique you recommend. When you consolidate multiple topics into a single e-mail, a) the subject line becomes muddled, b) it becomes tough to simply act-and-delete, c) becomes tough to file, and d) it’s not as easy to use the email to set up tasks and appointments as needed in Outlook. I try, now, to keep emails to a single topic.
I understand, some people don’t like the email consolidation technique, preferring one subject per email. It’s a personal preference, I guess.
I love when people send me an email with their topics numbered and briefly stated. It’s easy for me to answer each one individually.
Love the fairy dies reminder. You covered my pet peeves. I will add that for me, some of your comments also apply to blog comments.
Great tips Rachelle. I now have all my blog subscriptions via email so it has been a bit interesting getting used to that. I don’t miss anything I might otherwise have missed and I quickly delete things I just haven’t got time for. I am terrible for remembering something extra after I hit send, so your thinking first one works for me.
Maybe you could use your email filter to have all your blogs and other subscriptions to go into a separate folder, not your inbox.
Smart thinking, thanks Rachelle.
Pet peeves…
Having an email subscription from a single sender come in more than once with the SAME SUBJECT, especially when selling something. I have 500+ unread emails in a folder I intend to read “one day”. I just don’t have the time! Maybe in winter… when I’m watching the last autumn leaf fall, contemplating its colors as I recline and wonder about what I’m wondering about…
Not a forwarded email fan unless it’s REALLY funny, and I despise those ones that aim to put a hex on you if you won’t forward to fifty million friends in the next thirty seconds, BUT if you DO, “something” wonderful will happen today.
What if the email is a week old before I get to it? Am I disqualified for something wonderful? What if I think the content is a heap of pus? What if I don’t want to annoy someone like I just got annoyed because an email threatened me to forward or else?
Those behind phishing scams and viagra sales are from another galaxy, right?
Best advice: Pause before hitting send, don’t be backward in coming forward, and use a relevant subject line.
Love EOM and NNTR! Will use.
Pet peeve: Unsubscribing and remaining subscribed. GRRRRR!
Auto-correct function in my head: Email is a chore, so I am very concise.
Being self-employed means most of the email I get is meaningful & deserving of thought, so length not an issue.
Oh man, do I get you on how overwhelming it can be to clean out email files. Whew doggie.
I’m not a fan of goofy forwards. Love the people who send them. Wish they’d consider taking me off that never ending list when they forward.
Cracking me up about the fairies dying. Whatever happened to angels getting their wings? Oh yeah, that’s ringing bells.
~ Wendy
Sometimes, egregious emails can become endearing. I know if I see one in my box without a subject line that it’s from my little sister.
She usually asks a question, which I answer immediately without adding a subject line, making sure I also ask her a question. Before long, as we volley our short messages back and forth, the subject line takes shape.
We are both Aretha Franklin fans, and sometimes all we really want is a little re re re re re re re re.
Pet peeves:
1. Please do not send cutesy emails that consist mainly of long jokes or stories that are supposed to teach a lesson (“Once there was a man walking on a beach….”), especially if the message is embellished with gifs of bouncing teddy bears, fluttering butterflies, etc. Some of us use our eyes to read things all day long as part of our jobs. If you’re a friend or relative, I love you, but please don’t add to my eyestrain.
2. I realize no one can stop this, but to this day I occasionally receive emails from the lawyers of deceased millionaires in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Korea, and other places, all eagerly hoping I will let them direct deposit untold wealth into my bank account. Enough already!
Funny, I did not even include forwards or spam email in my post… I guess I assumed nobody reading my blog would do that!
This is good advice, every bit of it. This post should be mandatory reading.
“Remember that every time you send an email, somewhere a fairy dies.” Ha!
These are such useful tips.
All good points. But I stand by using proper manners such as thank you, even if it creates an extra email. Use your intuition.
Because rudeness sucks.
BTW can we please add phones? When you leave a VM (voicemail) message, leave the DETAILS and don’t just say call me. ARGH! What a waste of time. And PLEASE don’t mutter!
But does a fairy still die for a ‘thank you’ email?
They don’t die. They spread their wings and grow a second set of wings so they can fly higher and farther. (Further?)
Ah…sweet relief.
This is a great list – and I’m definitely in the ‘thank you’ court. An email with a quick ‘thanks’ at the end is 100% nicer to deal with than one with no salutation.
The only thing I don’t see up there is spelling – I don’t expect an email to be a perfectly edited piece of non fiction, but especially in business correspondence, I’d rather receive “Are you busy this afternoon?” than “r u bizzy?”
I agree with others who said they actually prefer longer e-mails to phone calls if there are several points to cover. I sometimes print these out for future reference or may follow up with a phone call if necessary, with the e-mail in front of me so we stay on task during the conversation.
And I would be completely confused with your abbreviations, though I love the intention of the gesture.
One of my pet peeves is when people use the subject line as the message itself. (sorry)
When I check e-mails on my phone, it shortens the subject, so I have to click on it anyway. Then the subject disappears, so it looks like a blank e-mail. I have to wait until I get on my computer at home to read these and it wastes a lot of time trying to figure it out.
I’d prefer subject line “Schedule Change!” with an e-mail that reads “Meeting at 4:30 instead of 5″ rather than a subject line that reads “Meeting changed to 4:30″ with a blank e-mail.
That might just be me.
Great points, though. Always looking for ways to streamline e-mails.
But now you know the abbreviations, so you wouldn’t be confused, right?
NNTR–Great post–EOM
People I barely know, or that I never hear from, other than to send me “jokes” and/or political crud.
Or, authors who I barely know or who never converse with me otherwise, sending me notices of their book/events.
I don’t send people notices/emails about my books, and if they subscribe to my blog is the only way they’ll receive emails from that source.
If you’re going to fill up my email, at least say hello, kat! once in a while.
It kills me when people leave the subject line BLANK. I always add a subject when responding. Hint, hint!
It also annoys me that so many folks think e-mail doesn’t have to be grammatical or spelled properly. I do a training at work that touches on e-mailing and I always emphasize that an e-mail is a written document–with permanency.
My 15-year-old was telling me about a group project a teacher assigned yesterday. The teacher suggested they exchange email addresses with the others in their group. The response of my son and his friends was, “Email? Who uses email these days?”
I thought that was interesting Both my teenagers text a lot, but never check email. I don’t know if this is a habit that will continue, or if it’s just a phase. Perhaps they will rely on email more as they get older.
Believe it or not my e-mails tend to be to the point. I say this because my comments on this blog are rarely brief!
I have to resort to trickery in my subject line to ensure that my adult children will read my e-mails. Most of the time we talk in person or over the phone.
There are times when I do put a particular subject in the subject line instead of hi or interesting article I thought you might enjoy…
I do most of your tips but I am going to add either NNTR or EOM when possible. That’s a great idea.
I like the subject line change. I do that at times but I will now try to do it every time it is needed.
I don’t send unnecessary e-mails. I am not responsible for any missing fairies.
I had a last straw email hit my inbox a couple of weeks ago that prompted me to quit leading a group. After 10 emails in one day – all “Reply to All” emails – about nit-picking things that didn’t need everyone’s attention – I sent out the LAST email to that group and resigned.
I’d call that a last straw…
My biggest pet peeve with e-mail is those who feel it is necessary to call twenty minutes after sending one to check and see if I got it. If something is so urgent and needs my immediate attention, I’d prefer a phone call, with a follow-up e-mail if necessary.
I feel so bad about killing all those fairies. *crying*
Thanks, Rachelle. Great post! I try to follow these but don’t always succeed.
Yes, yes, yes, on the consolidation and saying things concisely!
I try to bold any action items or things that state a deadline.
I love NNTR and EOM, very helpful…wish everyone used them!
Number 10 made me laugh- thanks!
As for saying “thank you”, I agree it is a nice thing to do. But have you ever noticed there are some people who feel the need to respond to EVERYTHING! There are times I know a person is thankful or whatever, I don’t need an additional message telling me that. Going along with this theme- text messaging. I hate it when I’ve answered a “quick question”, had a long conversation over text, I think it is wrapped up but they still need to text me “bye”. I’ve learned some people just need to have the last word or they feel compelled to reply to everything.
I try to let it go, but there are days I simply want to pull my hair out over a “bye”…pretty sure fairies die over text messages too!
I don’t usually say “bye” over text, but I must admit, I don’t ever quite know when the conversation is finished. If someone ends a text with something like, “OK…that answers my question. Thanks.” I will always reply back with “Great” or “You’re welcome” or “talk again soon.”
I wish there was an acronym for “Can We Be Finished Now?” CWBFN?
Great idea Sandy, I think we should just start using CWBFN and act like “everyone” is using it and maybe it will catch on!
This would be a good example of when I could use it. I want to acknowledge your response, but I don’t really have anything else to say except “yes, that would be funny.”
CWBFN?
(thanks for visiting my blog.)
You’re welcome. Your blog looks interesting. I’ll be visiting you more. Hope you stop by and check mine out!
CWBFN
It’s going to catch on- he he
I’m saving this one. I have been on both sides of doing this wrong. These will help. My suggestion for thank you is to put it in the subject line with EOM.
By the way, I have to say that my clients are really pros at email. They might send several topics in one email, but each one is numbered and briefly stated so that it’s easy for me to respond. Love this!
Wow, Rachelle! Hi and THANKS for the great information!
My pet peeve is when people hit “reply all” to an email where not everyone one needs to see/read your reply.
For example, say someone if trying to find a date for a meeting and queries 10 people. All 10 people hit “reply all” saying . . .
I can do the 9th at 2:00.
The 14th doesn’t work for me.
My cat is sick so I can’t meet until next month.
etc…………..
Just hit rely to the sender people! I don’t need to know your cat is sick!
Oh my word, the one about “quick question” made me laugh (and die a little inside) – I do that ALL the time! I am the bane of everyone’s existence!!
Loved this! All great reminders!
Blank subject lines drive me insane! We get a huge amount of emails stating “schedule change” but I would prefer they name for whom the schedule is actually changing. There are multiple schol, sports, church and work emails flying in on the wings of the fairies doing double shifts because all the good ones got stomped. Something as simple as a name still gets lost on many people. Oh, and “HI!” in the subject line ain’t so helpful. My worst pet peeve though is the multi-purpose guilt/rallying cry/friend counting “email this to 97 friends or the child in Alaska won’t get to meet Shamu” garbage. Nothing says ‘I love you’ like mindless emotional manipulation.
My biggest email pet peeve is when people forward a message they’ve already sent you if you don’t reply when they think you should. For example, someone I know emailed me a question. When I didn’t answer right away, he forwarded me the email he’d sent with a note at the top that said “Just curious why you haven’t responded to this yet.” It was just flat-out rude to me to do that.
I would totally do that. I would ask more nicely, but I would totally send a reminder along with the original message. I get legit e-mails trapped in my spam folder all the time, so I actually appreciate this gesture.
Isn’t it funny what strikes one person as rude the next finds helpful?
I can see how it would be helpful, but for me, I think it’s this person that causes it to be a pet peeve. He’s doing it that way on purpose, you know?
So, really, your pet peeve is this guy. I get that.
Please, please use BCC and don’t put every address including mine in the To: field. I don’t want all your friends putting me on their email newsletter list.
I just cleaned out 997 emails out of my inbox… and that was real mail, not spam. I have blocked most of those senders because like the reader above, I want to make my own shopping decisions and not have them shuffling around in my inbox.
My pet peeve is also when people don’t use BCC.
And when people reply to all when it’s not necessary, as someone mentioned above.
I work for a large corporation & we use Microsoft Communicate. This allows us to “talk” to other employees about quick items not requiring a full email. For instance I could ask someone in another building if their stationery order is in for the week. I know someone has sent me a message when the bar on the bottom of my screen starts to blink. I can open it up & reply in a couple words. This is especially great for all those “Thank You” messages that don’t need to be in writing. I still send email messages for items required to be in writing or where I have a list of items to be done as a reference. But love Communicate for quick messages.
I think there should be a law that people who unnecessarily hit “reply all” owe me $5, every single time.
I’m confused. Someone says to “consolidate” and send just a few lines to make it easier on the recipient. Then they also say to “consolidate” into ONE email with various points. Well, which is it? Do they want one long email with various points, or do they want three different short, concise emails that stay on point?
Personally, I’d rather have the three concise emails. Boom-boom-boom, finished.
Just my take. But perhaps I’ll email you later to expound.
I replied to this same issue to a couple of other commenters… it’s a personal preference and people want different things! I’m not set on it either way, but I think I really do like it when people send one email with several, well-delineated (hopefully even numbered) issues/questions. That’s very different from a long rambling email where I’m having to play Sherlock Holmes to figure out what is expected from me. (YOU don’t do that!)
I do, however, see the side of the “one topic per email” perspective.
Lately I’ve just felt like the avalanche has become so overwhelming that I’d do just about anything to cut down the numbers and have it not *feel* so much like Mt. Everest every time I sit down to my computer.
I work in LA Television News I read pitches everyday. If the email is long, complicated I don’t read it. Don’t have time. Old school, simple. Who, what where, why is the best way to get an editor’s eye.
A big yes to all of these. I’m the news editor for our local paper and, while the paper is small, I still get hundreds of emails every week (only dozens of which are relevant to our publication). Rambling emails and poor subject lines have become special pet peeves. My favorite subject lines are: THANK YOU and Fw:.
I also tear out hair follicles over emails that sound like they begin in the middle of conversation–one I haven’t been privy to–but perhaps that’s another topic!
My biggest e-mail pet peeve is people who don’t reply. It doesn’t matter if it’s important or not, if someone sends you an e-mail and asks you a direct question in that e-mail, take a minute and answer them. It’s rude not to.
Me too!!!!
No reply whatsoever is also my top pet peeve about email or any electronic message, especially legitimate business messages. I realize an email could accidently be deleted or buried. Some may think they will answer an email later and then never do. But I think some people just don’t realize how a completely unacknowledged email feels to the sender and leaves him or her wondering what is best to do next.
Love #5 and #6. Hadn’t thought to do that. I actually just blogged today about email etiquette. I didn’t even cover the basis, but had some good points.
Thanks for the tip about Thank you emails! I think it’s so important to remember to be grateful. And personally, I love it when I an unexpected thank you in inbox.
You’re a class act, Rachelle.
I have a friend who never writes anything in the subject line. DRIVES. ME. BONKERS. If I need to search through her messages, I can never find what I’m looking for. So my tip would be to put keywords in your subject line. Usually this happens naturally if you use the subject line to actually put the subject, but it never hurts to read it over again just to be sure.
Like others, I didn’t know what the acronyms meant. Since I don’t see them every day, I might forget their meaning by the time someone actually uses one in an email to me. I like the sentiment though. Maybe actually write out “no need to reply” at the end of a message? That would cover the bases…
Oh my gosh, I am so guilty of these! Thanks for the reminders. It was so funny, too, as I saw your post right after I had just sent one of these long-winded emails!
Thanks for these concise tips! Wow…a fairy dies. That’s sobering.
I appreciate your abbreviation definitions – I would’ve been clueless!
I’m still a bit confused? Soooo… when can I send an email?
The only thing I have a problem with is keeping the email to under three lines. In my particular field (architecture) we need document things for record purposes, so even if we get the gist of it in a phone call, we need to send a follow-up email about it with “as discussed on the phone on ____ date”. It avoids possible legal issues.
I would also add to the list: Do you really need to copy that person about this topic? Or can it be summarized in an email once a week?
Thanks for the list.
I love the EOM in the subject line idea. And so true about how easy it is to send of an amail in haste. I pitched to an agent yesterday after reading one of her blog entries. Now regret sending it. What a shame there isn’t an email retrieve button.
I think seeing this post was kind of meant to be for me today. Just yesterday, I received a rejection letter from an agent on a full manuscript. this was directly following an e-mail inquiry I sent her. This rejection seemed like she may not have actually read my manuscript (of course that could not be the case at all, it just felt that way) after having it for over 6 weeks. I had sent her an e-mail, just asking (very politely of course) if she could just verify that she received the manuscript, since I don’t trust the e-mail gremlins. My intent honestly wasn’t to pressure her, I just wanted to confirm it made it there, and thought 6 weeks on an exclusive was a reasonable time to wait before asking. I am now kicking myself wondering if that was “somebody’s last straw.” What do you think about follow up e-mails regarding submissions? IF I did irritate her, I certainly don’t want to do so to anyone else, but at the same time would like a system of knowing that my stuff did arrive.
My pet peeve is the people who won’t actually read a whole email message, even if I follow all your guidelines. I have to send followup emails just to hammer home the information or question I gave in the first one. So some people create their own email overload!
Agreed. Drives me nuts having to send a reply reiterating what I already stated in the first email.
Couldn’t agree more. Now with the consolidation of e-mail and some texting the problem has gotten even worse. Some people send out literally hundreds of texts per day. I have one person who, due to short-sighted texting, sends me over a dozen emails almost every day.
I gets quite tedious.
Great Post!
By the way, what ever happened to f-mail? Did we just skip over that one (for all too obvious reasons?). I mean I am already using g-mail? H-mail must be in beta testing by now???
One of my email pet peeves is when write:
I have 3 questions:
1)…
2)…
3)…
And the person only answers question one.
A second pet peeve is people who answer a message several days after it was sent — and delete all the message history — with an cryptic message, such as “yes.”
Thank you for letting me vent. I feel much better now!
Thanks Rachelle, #5 will be used as of this moment.
I really, really, REALLY dislike the “reply to all” unless it is actually helpful, such as in menu planning. Then, it is nice to know what everyone is bringing to avoid ending up with seven prune dips.
I use BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front). As I writer I like to build up to my point, so that’s what I do in an email. Before I send it, I take the last line, make it the first line, and delete the rest. That works for me 80% of the time.
Great ideas, Rachelle–thank you! My pet peeve is that someone I met at a conference took my business card and signed me up for her newsletter…which I never read. To boot, she doesn’t include an “unsubscribe” feature. I read once on Mary DeMuth’s blog that this is illegal (!) but I don’t have the heart to tell this individual “no thanks.” So maybe the problem lies with me??
YES to Mount Hermon
I’m a fan of deleting a lot of the email trail once it starts to run into the third, fourth… pages.
If recipients still need old info, they can find it in their previous emails.
I like white space.
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